Incident details
- Date of incident
- January 27, 2026
- Targets
- Robert Scherle (Independent)
- Assailant
- Law enforcement
- Was the journalist targeted?
- No
Assault
A federal agent in Eugene, Oregon, on Jan. 27, 2026, stands next to a memorial for Alex Pretti, the Minnesota resident killed by federal agents. Photographer Robert Scherle was hit with crowd-control munitions while covering a protest there that evening.
Independent photographer Robert Scherle was hit with crowd-control munitions fired by federal officers while covering a protest at the Federal Building in Eugene, Oregon, on Jan. 27, 2026.
Demonstrators had gathered outside the building that day to protest federal immigration enforcement activities and to hold a vigil for Alex Pretti, according to reports by local news outlets and Double Sided Media, which Scherle contributes to. Pretti is the Minneapolis resident who was killed by Border Patrol agents in Minnesota three days earlier.
Officers from the Department of Homeland Security and Customs and Border Protection responded to protesters by firing chemical irritants and crowd-control munitions at them and detaining individuals at various times during the day, those reports said.
Scherle, who was wearing a press pass and holding a professional camera, told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker that after the vigil for Pretti ended in the early evening, protesters and other individuals began crowding around the front door of the building, with a few yelling and banging on the glass.
Federal agents responded by firing flash bangs, tear gas and then pepper balls to push the crowd back, Scherle said. The encounter — with protesters moving toward the building and agents pushing them back with crowd-control munitions — lasted for around an hour.
He said that during that time he was hit with pepper balls and tear gas, adding that because it was dark and there were a lot of people there, he did not believe he was targeted as a member of the press.
Earlier that day, federal agents pushed Scherle, shot him with crowd-control munitions and sprayed him with a chemical irritant while he was covering the same protest.
Several other reporters covering the protest that day were also hit with crowd-control munitions or chemical irritants.
DHS did not respond to a request for comment.
The U.S. Press Freedom Tracker catalogs press freedom violations in the United States. Email tips to [email protected].
